hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field" (Exod. ix. 23, 24). Judgment had been threatened, and judgment came. The Lord threatened it, and the Lord sent it. It came at the appointed hour, and as He had said, it was very grievous, such as had never been known before. All came to pass. The Word of the Lord is sure, for ever settled in heaven. Judgment is now coming,-coming quickly. Deluded by Satan, and lulled into carnal security, thousands are crying, "Peace and safety," as though God had never spoken, and the Word of the Lord had never been written. But sudden destruction cometh. At the appointed day God will execute His Word. Woe, woe, woe to those who are unsheltered at that awful moment. Woe, woe, woe to him that regards not the Word of the Lord. Woe, woe, woe to him that refuses to come home. were the plagues of Egypt, and other judgments of God, there is yet fiercer wrath to come. Judgment after judgment is detailed in the Revelation, and amongst them a far more terrible downpour of hail even than the plagues of Egypt. In chapter xvi. 21, we read, " And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent and men blasphemed God because of Oh! the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." This is yet to come. unsheltered reader, come home. Grace is flowing freely. God is warning sinners. Sinner, take heed. Behold the Judge standeth before the door (James v. 9). Eternal wrath hangs o'er thy guilty head. Oh, that men would consider their latter end! (Deut. xxxii. 29). Come to the Saviour now. In Christ, and in Christ alone, is salvation to be found. "For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts iv. 12). Whether you have a good moral, or religious character before men, or whether you are openly wicked and infidel, if still unconverted in the world, you are exposed to the sure judgment of God. But whatever your moral or immoral state, Christ is the open door of salvation to all. I am the door: by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved," &c. (John x. 9). Oh! enter,-enter now! E. H. C. A SERMON OF TWELVE WORDS. "And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster-box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee, which had bidden him, saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering, said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace."-LUKE Vii. 36-50. HE Lord only spoke twelve words to this poor woman at His feet, but these twelve words embraced in themselves the settlement of every question that could possibly distress her soul for eternity. They embrace the whole horizon of her soul, whether she looked back upon the past, around on the present, or forward to the future. All was met by these words. Why has the Holy Ghost recorded this? For our profit and help, so that, if any be in a state of soul corresponding to this woman's-and be as simple as she was the blessing she got will be theirs likewise. If she looked at the past, she was pardoned. If she looked at the future, she was safe. If she looked at the present, she had what the whole riches of the world could not buy-peace. The Lord had gone into one of the Pharisees' houses, and sat down to meat. The Holy Ghost records these scenes in the life of Jesus that we may know Him. Our thoughts are all so foggy as to what kind of a heart God and His Son have toward us. We think of God as our enemy: God is our friend. Satan is our enemy; but God has shown out His heart to us in the person of His Son. Here is a Man on earth, and that Man the blessed Son of God; and there never was a poor weary sinner in this world, who wanted Jesus, that could not get to Him. Here He is in the house of a Pharisee, who cares but little for Him; but Jesus goes to his house, knowing it will give an opportunity for this poor woman, who was a sinner, to come to Him. The only difference between the Jesus of that day and of this, is that He has accomplished redemption and risen from the grave, and that it is not in the Pharisee's house that you will find Him, but in the Father's. But you will not find in the Father's house what she found in the Pharisee's. There she found a frown on the Pharisee's brow, but you will find no frown in the Father's house; there is nothing there to repel the worst who comes, but everything to attract. Here, then, we see the blessed Son of God, the perfect expression of love and holiness, meeting one who was the perfect expression of sin and wretchedness. She was a sinner-and, my reader, what are you? Are you not a sinner too? Perhaps you have not thought much about being a sinner? She had thought a great deal about it. And God thinks a great deal of your being a sinner. Have you, my friend, learned the truth before God, that you are a sinner? When the soul has learned what sin is in the sight of a God of perfect holiness, it becomes wretched. This woman was miserable in her sin and guilt, but she hears that Jesus is somewhere where she may get at Him. And if you are miserable in your sin, He is somewhere where you may get at Him. Was this woman invited? We do not hear that she was. You are better off, for you are invitedinvited to the Father's house, where Jesus is. When she heard where Jesus was, she came, and she soon found out the One she wanted. Never was there one in this world who had the countenance which the blessed Lord had, the grace, the moral power, the majesty. Though He was truly man, yet He was God, and as that poor woman came in that day, her eye would light at once upon Christ, and she saw none else. She wanted Jesus, and she drew nearer and nearer, till she got behind Him, and as she got nearer to God's blessed Son she |